Consumption of red meat has been associated with fat gain (and weight gain) because of its high fat / calorie content. Even though the old idea that “a high fat intake causes body fat gain” has been completely debunked in medical research [1-9], red meat still is a food that’s on the forbidden or avoid list in most diet plans. And for some reason, women tend to be especially afraid of eating meat…

While there are studies showing an association between meat intake and obesity [10-12], there are also studies not showing this [12-14]. And when digging deeper in the data, many of the studies that did report a significant association with meat intake and fat gain / obesity have several flaws that invalidate their conclusions….

Meat consumption and long term weight change

One of the latest and largest studies to date on the topic of red meat intake and weight gain (which is a surrogate measure for fat gain in epidemiological studies), concluded [15]:

“Total meat consumption was positively associated with weight gain in men and women, in normal-weight and overweight subjects, and in smokers and nonsmokers. With adjustment for estimated energy intake, meat intake of 250 g/d (e.g. one steak at approximately 450 kcal) would lead to a 2 kg higher weight gain after 5 years compared to the same diet with less meat. Positive associations were observed for red meat, poultry, and processed meat”.

This is a pretty bold statement! However a closer look at the study methodology and data reveals major weaknesses:

First; usual dietary intake was assessed only at baseline and not during the subsequent years. It is well recognized that peoples’ food habits often change over time. And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that in order to track changes over time, at least two measurements are required. And the baseline food intake assessment was done with questionnaires, which are infamous for being inaccurate [16-18]. Using a methodology that begs the question “how bad is good enough” will obviously not provide very reliable data [17].

Second; in several centers, participants who consumed more meat actually had less weight gain, whereas those with lower meat consumption had higher weight gain. Despite this, and despite the very large number of participants (about 103,000 men and 270,000 women), the researchers behind this study lumped them all together in the statistical analysis. Also, the assessment of physical activity, which is strongly related to food habits [19], was done via self-administered questionnaires, which do not accurately reflect objective physical activity or fitness data [20, 21]. Therefore, the adjustment for a possible influence of physical activity on the observed weight change in this study doesn’t strengthen its conclusions.

Third; the researchers reported an effect based on a combination of meat sources, but their sub-group analyses indicate that after exclusion of participants with chronic diseases and those likely to misreport energy intake at baseline, the following was found:

- red meat is not the villain in the association of meat intake and weight gain.
- the association with poultry was attenuated.
- processed meats were the strongest predictor of weight gain.

This indicates that processing, or factors associated with consumption of processed foods, are involved in the reported detrimental association between meat intake and weight gain, rather than meat per see.

Fourth; and probably the most important shortcoming is that the observed weight changes may be due to changes in either lean body tissue or fat mass or both [22]. Meat is a high-quality source of protein for building and maintaining lean body mass. Consequently, the noted association between meat intake and weight change may partly be due to gain of lean body mass in participants with high meat intake. It is well known that dietary protein plays a major role in developing and maintaining lean tissue mass in the body during growth in infancy, through adulthood while dieting, and particularly in preventing loss of lean body tissue and sarcopenia in elderly individuals over 50 years of age [23]. The loss of lean body mass is a particular problem in individuals over 60 years of age. In older people, a higher intake of high quality protein, such a red meat, helps to prevent loss of lean body tissue, resulting in better muscle strength, bone density, and physical functioning [24]. Thus, it is interesting that the association between meat intake and weight gain was stronger in participants that were over 45 years of age. An alternative interpretation of this finding is that the weight gain seen with higher intakes of red meat is not fat gain, but lean mass gain. This interpretation of the results is congruent with other studies showing that an increase in protein intake from meat and other sources prevents body fat gain [25, 26], enhances diet induced fat loss [27-30], and help with body weight (fat) control [26, 31].

Thus, studies that don’t measure body composition don’t tell anything about the role of meat for body fat control. Because of all these methodological flaws, the conclusion that “a decrease in meat consumption is recommended for body weight management and improvement of health” is totally misleading!

White meat contains much less fat than red meat, and also less fat than lean red meat, so intuitively it should be better for fat loss and body fat control than red meat, right?! Not so fast…

In a long-term study, two groups of subjects (including both men and women) were instructed to eat 170 g (6 oz) of lean red meat or white meat per day, 5 to 7 days per week [32]. This dietary change resulted in the following differences among the two groups:

Thus, the lean red meat eaters consumed almost 200 calories (178 calories to be exact) extra per day. No changes in physical activity were reported. However, despite this, after 36 weeks (9 months), there were no differences in body weight between the two groups [32]. Theoretically, since the energy content in 1 lb of body fat is about 3,500 calories, this daily caloric excess of about 48,000 calories (178 x 30 x 9) should have resulted in a fat gain of almost 14 lb (48,060 / 3,500).[33, 34] Even if the 3,500 calorie rule is an overestimation [33-35], an excess of 48,000 calories should be expected to result in at least some body fat gain.

This study, in contrast to the misleading one above, was well conducted and used detailed food log records, which is the gold standard tool for estimating dietary intakes [18, 36]. Thus, because a food contains more fat (and calories) doesn’t necessarily have to mean it will cause fat gain.

Lean beef compared to lean fish or poultry

Another study compared intake of beef with that of lean fish and poultry [37]. Three groups of male subjects each rotated in a crossover design through 3 experimental periods that lasted 26 d each. All the diets were planned to provide 2,800 calories per day, of which 18% came from protein, 53% from carbohydrate, and 30% from fat (polyunsaturated-to-monounsaturated-to-saturated fatty acid ratio: 1.0 : 1.1 : 1.0; 268 mg cholesterol/day; and 29 g fiber/day).

The 3 experimental diets had no differences in food composition with the exception of the protein source tested, which was:

1. lean beef (lean ground beef, exterior round, sirloin tip)

2. skinless chicken and ground turkey

3. fish (pollock, cod, sole, and haddock)

69% of daily proteins came from beef, fish, or poultry, and the remaining was from vegetable sources. This corresponded to about 400-500 g of the respective protein foods.

Body weight was measured every 2 days. Subjects were informed that they had to avoid alcohol consumption and that they should maintain the same activity level throughout the study. They were also asked to consume nothing besides the prepared meals they were given by the food lab. It was found that none of the experimental periods resulted in any body weight differences [37]. That is, on iso-caloric diets (i.e. constant energy intake), the protein source does not affect body weight, meaning that there is nothing inherently bad with red meat for weight control, which is a common misperception. This is supported by other studies [38, 39].

Red meat and dieting

There are conflicting recommendations regarding the appropriateness of red meat versus white meat consumption as part of fat loss diets. An interesting study examined changes in body weight in overweight women who followed an energy restricted diet (500 calories per day less than usual) with lean beef or chicken as the primary protein source, while participating in a fitness walking program. Body weight, body composition (by hydrodensitometry), were measured at baseline and after 12 wk.

The results showed a significant weight loss that was similar between the beef group and the chicken group. Both groups showed significant reductions in body fat percentage, with no significant differences between groups. This study demonstrates that weight loss and fat loss can successfully be accomplished through diet and exercise, regardless of whether the dietary protein source is lean beef or chicken [40].

Summary

Well conducted studies show that red meat can be included in effective fat loss diets, and that there is nothing inherently “bad” with red meat that would cause it to interfere in body fat loss or maintenance. And hey girls, this applies to you as well!

As outlined in that article; as long as you don’t overcook your steak, stay away from processed meats, eat your daily veggies, and adjust your carb intake to your physical activity level, you don’t have to fear that your meat intake will harm your health. And now you also know you can enjoy your steak without having to worry it would detrimentally impact your fat loss efforts.

29 Responses for Red Meat – Good or Bad for Fat Loss?

DougM:

May 11, 2012 01:44 am

So great to have a “bro” here in the gym with us, who’s also a ——g genious! True to form with the Brinks method of cut the BS, listen to some common sense, and oh by the way, massive scientific research backs it up. Love your work Monica.

While I do enjoy reading a lot; this very conclusive article did run in to my working out at the gym, studying for a test, and getting chores done so that my mother doesn’t get piss-off. I don’t mean to be a bother, but I never did get to the conclusion, and or meaning of the article. (Dose Red Meat Make You Fat?)
Please don’t get me wrong. I’ve unsubscribe to all most every email subscription post that I had subscribed to because; they took up too much reading and study time. However; your articles I trust to be the very best, and I’ve ordered from some of the web-sites that you’ve indorsed. And; because your articles have no come-ons or B. S., I consider myself luck to be on your email list.
My Complaint is: I didn’t get to the conclusion of (Dose Read Meat Make You Fat?).
My Suggestion: A conclusive paragraph at the end of the article. That would such a help.

M
Can you make any comments regarding possible advantages (or not) of GRASS FED lean beef vs CORN FED?
Love all of your articles. I also eat lean, grass fed, red meat and wonder if it is worth the extra cost and difference in taste
Jim

Note that vegan diets are not intrinsically healthy for more reasons than just the lack of B12. This is a topic that deserves an article in its own right. Vegans and vegetarians are known for being health conscious and living healthy life styles, so there are a myriad of confounding factors hiding behind the data showing that these diets lead to longer and healthier lives.

I will not argue about animal rights, that is an ethical issues subject to personal bias, for which there is no right or wrong. When it comes environmental consequences of food production technology, I believe humankind is smart enough and with ingenuity will find solutions. Car use has a far greater detrimental effect on the health of both the planet and its inhabitants….!

When it comes to health issues, I do not agree that eating red meat (or white meat) has inherent negative health effects. I will cover this in-depth in my next article “Red Meat and Health – have we been blaming the wrong thing?” that I will publish here on the BZ soon.

Well, you know, I’ve read all of these statistics about how it takes a swimming pool of fresh water to make a pound of beef, and that doesn’t include all of the gas and water needed to grow the corn to feed the cows, and then consider all of the methane from the cow farts contributing to global warming, manure run-off into the watersheds, and also consider that we simply don’t have enough natural resources to sustainably support the 7 billion people on this planet in a modern, resource hungry, industrialized society.

The solution is simple. Cannibalism. With this obesity epidemic we’d have some nice fatty cuts of meat and we could cull the population of those who cost society the most in health care dollars. Solves a whole bunch of problems all at once.

I personally like beef, I have a quarter of a grass fed beef in my chest freezer and another quarter grazing in a pasture a hundred miles away. There certainly are sustainable ways to produce meat and some day I’d like to try the lab grown meat that researchers are working on.

Monica,
I’m so glad you are going to do a follow up to the question of how healthy meat is on heart disease or cancer. All the while, reading your article I kept hoping you would address this question. I can’t wait to read the follow up. I can relax knowing that I eat only eye round of beef, if only because the fattier cuts just don’t agree with me. As for the veggies, someone asked me recently “how many bags of broccoli and cauliflower do you eat at day” and I was proud to say at least two or three.

I was afraid that beef, even a lean cut of eye-round would contribute negatively to colon cancer or arterio/atherosclerosis, and/or plaque build up? I also eat three or four tablespoons of fish oil a day with my meals, and only whole wheat or oatmeal.

But I will admit that sometimes I will have a bowl of ice cream with my wife, who says; “who are you and what have you done with my husband?”

Even my doctor has said “You know, it wouldn’t kill you to eat a cheeseburger once in a while”, and I reply
“UNACCEPTABLE!” XD

Thanks again for all the great info and articles. Oh and BTW Will, you rock!!!

Yes, the health aspects (other than fat loss/gain) surrounding red meat are important issues. That’s why my follow up article is some 7 pages (excluding references!); it’s more like a book chapter than an article, lol. But I will offer a printer-friendly download link. You will for sure get all your answers there.

Monica,
Awesome! Can’t wait for the article! I will take my wife out for dinner, but her steak will have to be made of soy since she is a vegetarian.

I also wish sometimes I didn’t have to eat meat for muscle growth (if only the animals were treated a bit more humanely at the farms) ;( but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way, and as you’ve pointed out the many benefits of being a carnivore….I will just say a prayer for them in private.

First, Monica, I LOVE that photo! And, that plateful of steak just made me hungry! What a marvelous article this is! Red meat has been demonized for way too long, as a source of bad health, in general, and I’ve grown really sick and tired hearing about it. I’ve read other articles besides yours that put the blame squarely where it should be, on processed foods, processed sugar and carbohydrates. These are the sources, primarily, from what I gleaned from the articles, that raise cholesterol levels and put plaque in arteries…not read meat! I believe cancer could be associated with these types of foods, as well. In addition, getting a proper amount of dietary fiber will definitely help one avoid things like colo-rectal cancer, I believe. One last thing: whenever I read so-called “evidence” about things, such as demonizing red meat, I remember a saying I once heard: “research the researchers”, meaning, they just might have a vested interest and investment in something other than solid research!

I actually don’t think that red meat is bad. If it is not very fat, than why not? At least beef steaks that are cooked without oil can be a really good option I suppose.
I lost 11 kilos on dr simeons diet, and after I started to eat healthy, but still I often eat red meat, and I did not gain back my kilos